The Marshal's Justice (Appaloosa Pass Ranch 4) (12 page)

Someone like Malcolm, for instance.

“I’m sorry,” Malcolm said, and he aimed that apology at April. “Tina and I were close, and when I found out you could have perhaps prevented her death, I wanted to confront you, face-to-face.” He glanced away. “I couldn’t do that, though, after I saw how torn up you were about your baby.”

Chase stared at him a long time. “Are you sure all of this isn’t just to cover your tracks? Because if you helped Crossman in any way get to Bailey or April, then you’ll be charged with a couple of felonies.”

That renewed some of the anger on Malcolm’s face. “I didn’t help him.” Malcolm had to get his teeth unclenched before he could continue. “Crossman murdered Tina, and he
will
pay for that.” It sounded like a threat and a promise.

Chase figured he should lecture Malcolm on not taking the law into his own hands, but he seriously doubted Malcolm would listen. Besides, he didn’t want to hang around here with April next to the creep who’d basically stalked her for two months.

“Come on,” Chase said, and he got April moving toward the exit. However, they’d made it only a few steps when Chase’s phone rang, and he saw Jericho’s name on the screen.

April and he stepped to the side, and because Malcolm was still in earshot, Chase didn’t put the call on speaker.

“We got a visitor,” Jericho said the moment Chase answered. “You and April need to get back here right now.”

Chapter Twelve

April hadn’t been sure what to expect when she stepped into the Appaloosa Pass sheriff’s office. All Jericho had told them on the phone was that someone had just showed up out of the blue.

That someone was Quentin.

Her brother had refused to answer any questions until she got there.

April figured that wasn’t a good sign, but the fact he was there proved he hadn’t faked his own kidnapping. Well, maybe it meant that.

Knowing her brother, this could be part of a sick plan, too. But at least Quentin was alive, and she got proof of that the moment Chase and she arrived. Her brother was indeed there, sitting in a chair next to one of the deputy’s desks.

Quentin stood when he spotted her, but he didn’t move toward her. She didn’t move toward him, either. Not because she wasn’t glad to see him. She was, and she was thankful he was alive. But there were so many questions, and April started with the easiest one first.

“Shouldn’t you be at the hospital?” she asked.

“Trust me,” Jericho said, not looking especially pleased with this development, “I tried to talk him into it.”

“I’m not going back there,” Quentin insisted. “But a medic came and checked my incision. I’m okay. And he left me some pain meds to take. I’ll do that after we’ve talked.”

But he sure didn’t look okay. Quentin was pale and didn’t seem too steady on his feet.

Chase walked to him, meeting him eye-to-eye. “Tell us about the kidnapping and how you got away.”

Quentin nodded, but he didn’t look at Chase. He kept his attention on April. “When I was in radiology waiting for the MRI, two armed men stormed into the room. They were both wearing ski masks so I couldn’t see their faces. They forced me out of the hospital and into a van, and then they took me to a house on the edge of town.”

Chase jumped right on that. He took a notepad from the deputy’s desk and dropped it next to Quentin. “Write down the address of that house.”

Quentin nodded, eventually. He scrawled it down and handed it to Chase. That’s when she noticed Quentin was shaking. Likely caused from a combination of pain and fear.

She tried not to give in to the old tug in her heart. The one that’d coddled and protected her kid brother way too many times. The bottom line was April wasn’t sure she could trust Quentin.

Jericho glanced at the address, took out his phone and stepped into his office to make the call. No doubt to get someone out there to check it out. That probably meant calling in one of the night or reserve deputies, but April was glad he wasn’t going himself because it would have left just Jax, Chase and her in the office. And if her brother’s kidnapping had been the real thing, then those ski mask-wearing men could come after him again.

“How did you escape?” she asked her brother.

“They had some pain meds for me there, and I spiked their coffee with them. When they fell asleep, I got out and walked here.”

Chase and she exchanged glances, and he was clearly bothered by one part of that explanation, too. “The kidnappers gave you pain meds?”

Quentin nodded. “I didn’t take them, though, because I knew they’d make me sleepy.”

Her brother had missed the point, and April clarified it for him. “You really think Crossman or the loan shark would have cared if you were in pain?”

His eyes widened. “You believe Renée was behind the kidnapping? If she was, she didn’t come to the house and the men didn’t mention her.”

“Did they mention anyone?” Chase snapped.

Quentin eased back down into the chair. “No. The only thing they said to me had to deal with the ransom. They said once they had the money, they’d release me.”

April had no idea if that was true or not. This could still have been a ploy to draw her out. Except for those pain meds. But then, as devious as Crossman was, that might be something he’d do just to throw them off his trail.

“Renée wouldn’t have put me in danger like that,” Quentin added several moments later. “She’s crazy, but she loves me.”

“She’s crazy, period,” Chase corrected. “And yes, she could have put you in that kind of trouble. She could have done the same to Bailey, April, Jax and me.”

Quentin made a sound as if he didn’t quite buy that, and it made April wonder if Renée and her brother had indeed partnered up on this. But if so, then why had Quentin escaped?

Or had he?

“Did you get the ransom money?” Quentin asked her. “Because if you did, I need to borrow some of it.”

April didn’t even bother trying to choke back a groan. Chase groaned right along with her. “Did you fake all of this?” Chase came right out and asked.

That got Quentin right back on his feet. “No. Absolutely not.” But the burst of energy didn’t last long. “If I don’t pay the money I owe, they’ll kill me.”

Again, April tried not to give in to the emotion that caused inside her. “How much?”

“A hundred thousand,” Quentin answered after a long pause.

Less than half of what the kidnappers had demanded. Still, it was a lot of money. “How the heck did you get involved with a loan shark?” But April waved off any answer he might give her.

And he would have had an answer, all right. One that she likely wouldn’t want to hear. Her brother always seemed to be involved in something messy, and criminal, like this.

“It’s not like you think,” Quentin insisted. “The money wasn’t...” He stopped and shook his head. “You’ve always taken care of me. Ever since Mom and Dad were killed, you’ve been the one person I can rely on.”

He was playing with her heartstrings now. Or maybe he was dodging the truth about why he’d borrowed that money. The ploy was something April recognized. She had indeed taken care of him, but that was about to end.

“I’ll give you the money,” April said. “But there are conditions attached. You’ll take a polygraph, and during that test, I intend to ask you a lot of questions. If you’ve lied to me, about anything, then you won’t get another dime of my money.”

The surprise, then the anger, flared in Quentin’s eyes. “How could you not trust me? I’m your brother and you claim to love me.”

That was probably meant to hurt her. It didn’t work. “I do love you, but I don’t trust you.” She didn’t linger on Quentin but instead turned to Chase. “How soon can you set up a lie detector?”

“Soon,” Chase assured her.

Jax made a sound of agreement. “I’ll get started on that right now. I can probably have the examiner in here within an hour.”

“The test could be wrong,” Quentin argued. “I mean, there’s a reason the results from a polygraph aren’t admissible in court.”

April ignored him and headed for the break room at the end of the hall. Chase followed her. She wasn’t sure what his reaction would be to her demand, but he gave her a nod of approval.

“You think he’ll go through with the polygraph?” Chase asked.

“He’ll probably try to worm his way out of it. It won’t work. Without the test, the loan shark won’t get the money, and Quentin will just have to deal with the consequences himself.”

Chase took her by the arm and led her to a chair. It took April a moment to realize why he’d done that. She was trembling. It wasn’t just because she’d finally stood up to her brother, but an avalanche of all the things that’d happened.

“I know that wasn’t easy for you,” he said, handing her a cup of water.

“Quentin made it easier.” She looked up at him. “He’s not telling the truth about something. I just hope that something doesn’t have anything to do with Bailey’s kidnapping.”

Judging from the hard look that put in his eyes, Chase felt the same way.

April looked up when she heard the footsteps. Not Quentin, thank goodness. It was Jericho.

“The place where Quentin claims he was held is a rental house that’s supposed to be unoccupied according to the owner,” Jericho explained. “I’m short on help right now so two Texas Rangers are headed out there. If they see anything, they’ll bring in the CSIs to go through the place.”

April figured there wouldn’t be anything to find since the hired guns wouldn’t have left anything incriminating behind. Still, it was all necessary since any and every little thing could perhaps help them untangle this dangerous situation.

Jericho glanced over his shoulder into the squad room, and April saw what’d gotten his attention. Quentin. He was making his way toward them. But Jericho put a stop to that.

“You can wait in the interview room,” Jericho said, and he shut the door to the break room.

April made a mental note to thank Jericho for that later. “I wasn’t ready to go a second round with my brother,” she told Chase. “I just want to go back to the safe house so I can see Bailey.”

Chase made a weary sound of agreement. “Soon.”

She thought there might be a
maybe
attached to that. And there probably was. There were hired guns on the loose, and it was highly likely there could be another attack.

“I’ve forgotten what normal feels like,” April continued. “What with WITSEC, Bailey being premature. And all the rest of it,” she added.

The next sound Chase made was a weary sigh. “Sorry, but I can’t give you normal.”

No. He couldn’t give it to himself, either. Because soon he’d have to surrender that badge and quit being himself.

“I’m sorry,” April added.

He frowned. “You’ve been telling me that a lot lately.”

“There’s no telling how many apologies I’ll owe you. Unlike me, you actually have a good life you’ll have to give up. I think we can both agree that my old life was a mess.”

Chase didn’t argue with that, but he did move closer. And he stared at her. “Your new life’s also a mess.”

Considering it was the truth, April was surprised that she managed a smile. Surprised, too, when Chase slipped his hand around the back of her neck and eased her to him.

No kiss, but he brushed his mouth against her temple. His arms were so warm. His breath, as well, and April just slid right into him, taking everything he was offering. Despite the consequences.

Getting close to Chase always came with a high price.

Maybe not immediately. But he’d regret this. Soon, there’d be the resentment in his eyes. Soon, the bad blood would resurface, eating away at him and making him remember all the reasons he should have never gotten involved with her in the first place.

But no high price right now. Just the warmth. Then, the heat. Always the heat. Even though he didn’t tighten his grip, she felt the attraction tug at her. Urging her to get closer and take even more from him.

He cursed, a really bad word that had her looking up at him to see if something had prompted it. Something had.

Her. This.

April started to move away from him, but Chase held on, pinning her against the wall with his body. Now, the kiss came. The full slam of heat, too. She was certain Chase didn’t actually want this, but he was just as powerless as she was when it came to this attraction.

He deepened the kiss. Mercy, did he. His mouth knew hers way too well and knew just how to coax the fire from her. Not that he had to do much coaxing. The kiss and being so close to him had already accomplished that. He robbed her of her breath, any shred of common sense, and he just kept on robbing until soon the kisses weren’t enough.

April wanted more.

She wanted Chase.

And she got him. Well, more of that body-to-body contact anyway. She hooked her arms around him, pulling him closer. Not that he had far to go. They were already pressed against each other, but the slight adjustment aligned them in just the right way to have sex. It was out of the question, of course.

Still, her body got the notion that it was a done deal.

In that moment April understood why people did such stupid things. Because this was stupid. But it was also what she wanted more than anything. More than sanity. More than her next breath. The problem was she could feel the same need in Chase. Which meant they were in a boatload of trouble if one of them didn’t stop.

Chase was the one to do that. Thank goodness, since April couldn’t force herself away from him. But Chase let go of her and stepped back.

He didn’t look at her right off. He stared at the ceiling while he mumbled profanity. And in this case, the profanity wasn’t directed at her but rather at himself. Something April totally understood.

“I’m not apologizing,” he finally said. He might have added more to that. Especially some more profanity, but his phone rang.

Timing was a strange thing. Because if the call had happened just a couple of minutes earlier, that kiss wouldn’t have happened. Nor that non-apology. And despite the fact April knew she should regret it, she didn’t. For those minutes, she’d had Chase, and even though it was only temporary, it was better than the scowls and the painful reminders of what she’d done.

“Unknown caller,” Chase said when he glanced at the screen.

That took care of any of the remaining fire in her blood. April held her breath, waiting for him to answer the call and put it on speaker.

“Marshal Crockett,” the woman said. “It’s Renée.”

Chase moved quickly, heading out of the break room and down the hall until he reached Jericho in the squad room. April was right behind him.

“Where are you, Renée?” Chase asked her. The question got Jericho’s attention as it was probably meant to do.

“You know I can’t tell you that because you’ll arrest me.” It sounded as if Renée was crying. “I can’t go to jail and I can’t live without Quentin.” Yes, definitely crying because she made a hoarse sob. “April turned him against me.”

Chase gestured for April to stay quiet before she could say anything. Probably because he thought Renée might say more if the woman believed she was talking to only him. Or maybe he just didn’t want Renée to know April was with him.

“Why do you think April’s turned him against you?” Chase asked Renée. “Have you spoken to Quentin?”

Silence, punctuated by more sobs. “Because why else would Quentin have left me?”

April could think of several reasons. Well, one big one anyway. Renée was crazy.

“How and when did Quentin leave you?” Chase pressed.

The next round of crying was considerably louder. “He ran away.”